Smile
by The Eccentric
Summary: We all have our tells, yours just happens to be a smile.
consider it disclaimed

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enjoy

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smile

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Artemis and Kaldur'ahm had a bond that was incomparable to any other she had ever formed. It was far from being like the one she and Wall shared, where friction was the key to their relationship. If anything it was closer the silent companionship she and Conner had grown into; and yet it was still one of a kind. The two of them were fluid, as cliche as it was. They were observant enough of each other to move easily around and their conversations were like water, flowing from topic to topic with no lull, no hesitation. They wouldn't even talk about the things they knew in their hero personas. It wasn't missions, plots against the earth, or their chosen activity. They spoke of the arts, world politics, themselves and their interests; their conversations were various and vast in subject matter.

Of course, they hadn't always been so free with one another, before that their friendship was almost a mirror of the one she shared with Conner really. It took her by great surprise when he chose to confide in her, of all people, about his on-going dilemma with Tula. That was when she stopped and re-evaluated the confined boundaries of their relationship. Despite lacking the experience of that kind of longing and heartbreak, she respected him for trying to move on.

It wasn't until months later that she realized her fondness for the boy had reached a new level of affection. Artemis was never certain what it would amount to, if anything at all, so the realization was pushed back to the depths of her mind with the sole intention of focusing on her actual boyfriend.

It hadn't struck her until many more months later, as he was meticulously describing the details of Atlantis, while she listened almost dreamily to his ever calm voice, how far things had progressed. Even then it didn't come all at once. It wasn't anything like a lightning strike, or a light bulb being flicked on in a dark room; but it was a slight tingle spreading from the edge of her conscious mind, where things tended to blur a bit. He paused shortly, a small smile tugging the corners of his lips upwards, and he promised that he would find a way to show her Atlantis one day. Artemis couldn't help the wide grin that lit up her face at the prospect of _actually seeing Atlantis_ , but then she realized that it wasn't _just_ seeing Atlantis. The happiness she was feeling was partially because of _who_ wanted to show her their home one day. The tingling sensation had spread as her thought process played out and as the last pieces clicked into place her stomach nearly exploded into fluttering butterflies.

She loved Kaldur just as she loved Wally.

That was the first time she allowed a conversation with her Atlantian teammate to fall into a lull by her own means. Only a few seconds of silence had passed before it was broken by Wally's unusually good timing and his usual hunger.

Artemis retreated in haste to join Wally for a quick lunch in Central City, but not before promising to share the details of her recent trip to Paris─the trip Wally had surprised her with in the middle of the night on the first night of Winter Break. Apparently, Wally had been working at a part time job when he didn't have school or training just to save up for something special for their holiday.

It wasn't long after that did Artemis note she was becoming far to good at retreating. Only this time, it was from Wally. Between the stress of her senior year, prospective colleges, and scholarship applications on top of Jade moving into the two bedroom apartment (an attempt to fly straight while pursuing a relationship), her relationship had slowly edged its way from its place near the top of her list. She couldn't handle everything at the moment, and Wally didn't deserve that. He deserved to be someone's number one and right now Artemis was unable to give him that.

The fact that Wally was just as stressed as her didn't help the situation, in fact, it probably aided in her leaving the boy sitting in the Central City Public Park.

One ill placed comment had been misinterpreted, then of course one thing led to another, and they fought. The two of them practically took turns saying the worst things possible in the situation to each other setting one another of even more, and that's when she ended it. There was not hesitance, no uncertainty in her voice. She couldn't handle the stress anymore, his or hers'. She had taken a deep breath and calmly told him that they both had enough on their plates as it was and they didn't need the added stress they were forcing upon themselves with a relationship. They needed a break, at least until finals were over.

At first Wally said nothing, just stared angrily with those green eyes she had adored for the past few years. It was a stiff nod and a curt 'fine' when he finally answered her. Artemis gave a slow nod in response and wasted no time turning on her heel and walking away. It wasn't that she wanted to make a statement by walking away, it was the fact that walking away was what she was supposed to do. Besides, her eyes were stinging and she didn't want him to see _that_ right after she broke up with him.

Wandering through the streets of Central was nothing like watching every step you took in Gotham, you could get lost in thought without having much concern whether someone would pull you into an alley at gunpoint; so out of dumb luck or sheer habit Artemis found herself standing in the 'bad' part of town in front of an abandoned parking garage. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, she ducked under the battered toll arm and let herself into the security booth. Almost instantly, she was greeted with the familiar sight of Mount Justice's interior.

Her steps were lighter than normal in attempt to keep the unusually quiet atmosphere of the Cave just that. She knew that she and Wally had opted out of going on the latest mission, which was more than likely the reason it was so peaceful for once. Part of Artemis wished she had decided to go despite the fact it was just an easy covert mission to let the newest recruits get a little more comfortable working within the team; but she didn't think she could have dealt with even more stress on her part and there was always the fact that Wally had been very insistent about them skipping missions to spend time together.

"Perhaps it is just me, but it does not seem normal for you to pace the hallway in frustration, my friend."

Oh.

Had she really started pacing? Letting out a short breath, Artemis turned slightly and leaned back into the wall looking down at the floor. From the corner of the eye, she could see Kaldur's feet, bare as always, and she could tell he was standing at ease waiting for a response.

"I suppose your silence is an affirmation that it is indeed, just me," he added after another moment of silence.

"Sorry," Artemis muttered, still not looking up.

"There is no need to apologize, Artemis. You are upset and I disturbed your peace. I could leave you alone if you like," Kaldur's voice was soft and comforting as he stepped closer to her.

"No, you didn't disturb me. I just," she paused, searching for the words, "Needed to get away from things."

"Come then," he extended his hand as he spoke, "And you may tell me if these things are chasing after you, if you see fit."

Artemis didn't think twice as she slipped her hand into Kaldur's. A small scowl pulled at her lips, " I don't think I want to talk about it."

"Then you do not have to," Kaldur was quick to answer.

Artemis squeezed his hand gently and half smiled. The smile disappeared as an image of upset green eyes burned in her mind, but she remained silent, still grasping his hand. The two stayed silent until they encountered the small alcove they tended to occupy when they conversed. An armchair and a small loveseat was tucked away in a dead end corridor that they had claimed as their own. Kaldur released her hand to take his normal spot in the chair; and Artemis didn't hesitate in taking her own spot, slouching against the arm of the loveseat.

"So..." Artemis searched her mind for anything other than Wally to use as a topic. "Everyone out on the mission?"

"Zatanna was wandering about, but I have not seen her since before the team departed," Kaldur answered patiently. "It is likely she has left since then."

"Oh."

"I apologize that I am not the company you were looking for," Kaldur joked lightly.

"That's not it." Artemis nearly groaned.

"You know that you can confide anything in my, Artemis," his voice was more serious this time, Artemis squeezed her eyes shut and let her head fall back against the cushions.

"I know, Kaldur," her response came after a short pause, but she said nothing else.

And Kaldur waited. The ever present look of calm on his face, but his eyes as attentive as ever, he waited.

"I broke up with Wally."

"And yet you are upset?"

"I do love him, you know," Artemis had adopted a slightly defensive tone as she said this.

"We all know that you do, Artemis," Kaldur's soothing voice made her feel a bit less on edge. "No one would ever question that. It is only the fact that you...broke up with him."

"I had my reasons." Artemis was quiet as she folded her legs to her chest, resting her chin in the small gap between her knees, casting her eyes towards the floor. "I have a lot to think about right now."

Kaldur said nothing and she wouldn't meet his eyes. With an inaudible sigh, he was on his feet and in only a few steps he had seated himself next to the archer. Less than an inch of space between them and his arm was around her shoulders in a half hug almost immediately.

"Forgive me," he chuckled lowly. "You are the last person I had expected to ever have to comfort."

"I can't say that I ever expected to need to be comforted by you," Artemis' voice was husky as she tried to blink back the tear threatening to form.

"Yet, here we are."

"Here we are." Artemis said nothing, choosing to lean into her friend instead. Kaldur was a friend; a friend that she loved as more than a friend, but was not aware of this. He was still a friend and that's what she needed right now.

Kaldur was quick to wrap his other arm around the blonde as she slouched against him. They sat in silence for what seemed to be hours and even though his arm was beginning to cramp, he said nothing. That is until she sighed softly against his neck and couldn't help his next words.

"Artemis," his voice was barely above a whisper. "What were your reasons?"

Artemis stiffened in his grasp and said nothing for a long moment.

"Stress," the single word came out as a choked whisper and Kaldur turned to look at the archer, one eyebrow arched curiously.

"I love someone else," her voice was small and her head was lowered. She looked defeated.

"A person is allowed to have more than one love, Artemis," Kaldur stated with ease. "It is unlikely that you were unfaithful to Wally, so you have done nothing wrong."

"For all I know, I broke his heart because I can't deal. To me, that is wrong."

"From what I see, you have broken your own heart, Artemis."

"Right now, it's best for the both of us," Artemis said firmly.

"If you are trying to convince yourself, Artemis, it is unwise to try playing Devil's Advocate at the same time." Kaldur released his hold on Artemis, working the cramps from his stiff limbs.

"I'm not trying to..." Artemis trailed off and let her head fall back against the couch.

"Since you have finally realized that you are not wrong, perhaps we should change the subject?"

"Yeah, yeah." Artemis waved him on.

"Do I know this new suitor that has caught your affections?" A small smile graced Kaldur's lips, it was as close to teasing as Kaldur got. Artemis looked at him, wide-eyed and turning a deep shade of red.

"N-no! This isn't exactly the subject we should be talking about with...everything going on," Artemis waved her hand wildly about to help emphasize her point.

Kaldur just chuckled.

"My apologies for bring up another touchy subject, but," his hand was on her cheek, pressing gently until she faced him. "You cannot expect me to play a fool in all this, Artemis."

The rough feel of his skin against her now burning face lingered for a short few seconds before falling away. It was an interesting sensation, his skin against her own in such an intimate way, and Artemis couldn't help but wish it had lasted for just a bit longer. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and turned her head away.

"I'm so sorry," she spoke softly, looking towards the floor.

"As I said before, there is no need to apologize."

"So you know then."

"I do."

"For how long?"

"I am uncertain of precisely when, but I believe it was even before you realized."

"So how do you know it was before I realized that I...uh...you know?" It was hard for Artemis to say it for some reason.

"I told you that I would show you Atlantis one afternoon," Kaldur's voice held a small hint of sadness that even she was able to pick up on. "Promised it to you, I believe, and you smiled, Artemis. You smiled the same way Tula smiles at Garth, the same smile you saved for Wally."

"A smile? That's what you're going on?"

He ignored her comment and continued, "I know because after you left in such a hurry, I smiled the same way."

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This has been sitting in my documents half finished for a while, I was never really sure if I wanted to leave it as s oneshot or if I wanted to turn it into a short multi chapter. So for now, consider it a single shot, not necessarily AU, since the years between season 1 and 2 aren't covered (sans the game and references), just take it as you will.

This is a standalone from Tease, Tempt, Trust, and Cracks in a Mountain.  
I really need to rewatch the series and get my spark back. Although Dragon Age and Fallout have taken over my interest (though I haven't written anything) YJ has a huge part of my heart and the fandom owns an equally large space as well.

I have a few things from tumblr prompts that I've not posted on FFN that are no longer available, so I'll probably repost onto FFN just for the sake of them being somewhere, but I'm not promising anything as of now concerning my stories, but I'll try (and we see how well that's gone in the past. lol).


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